


This Wondrous World

by SimonKilnsworth



Series: Chuki Tails [4]
Category: Chuki
Genre: Chuki - Freeform, Fantastical city, M/M, NSFW, Smut, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:09:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21583573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimonKilnsworth/pseuds/SimonKilnsworth
Summary: My fourth of the Chuki Tails. This one featuring the Chuki creator himself and his Kouhai, Tanashi! The two meet up in the city of Fontina for the first time in half a year, but it's not a perfect reunion by any means.
Series: Chuki Tails [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1489073
Kudos: 2





	This Wondrous World

_Hey,_

_I got your last message. Sorry it took me a bit to get back to you. Work was distracting, as usual haha._

_Congrats on the promotion! I told you you deserved it. Now you can see the world like me! I hope you get to see that all the effort you put in was worth it._

_Anyway, I just finished up over here and am on my way back. By the sound of it, we might even end up in the same city at the same time. Here’s hoping we run into each other ;3_

_Sorry again for running out so quickly before. I’ll let you know all about what I found the next time I see you. And I can’t wait to hear everything that’s been going on with you and everyone back home. Hopefully that will be soon!_

_Your Senpai,_

_Roy_

The city of Fontina always managed to take Roy’s breath away when he first stepped off the train. Carved in its entirety out of a forest of ancient redwood trees, the “buildings” soared hundreds of feet overhead. They ranged from a dozen to over a hundred feet thick, pitted with glowing windows and surrounded by wooded steps. Filling much of the spaces in between the trees and forming several different tiers and levels were large artificial platforms anchored to the trunks or suspended from the high branches forming all manner of park, mall, or other public plot. Streets of rope bridges hung between them, creating a network between the platforms and making the city look half like an overgrown child’s jungle gym.

The only things that broke the illusion of a fantastical paradise of nature and made it into something more were the modern features mixed in. Wherever there wasn’t a window into a trunk signifying a Chuki’s dwelling, there were giant signs or screens advertising all manner of product or service that could be found within the city. They grew less frequent higher up, but there on the ground level there were so many it was almost dazzling. It was city that never knew darkness or rest.

The lower tier was the hub of intercity business and transportation. Built around the base of nearly every tree he could see were platforms for loading goods or Chuki on and off the many trains that passed through it.

Despite this, there was little activity that far down, crowds dispersed almost as quickly as they were released from their metal tubes, and those standing around to replace then were significantly smaller. Soon only those who worked on the platform remained, but Roy knew why. It was at the top of the city, past the residential tiers in the middle, where the city center was located. The center was where all the Chuki living in and visiting the city spent their free time. It had all the facilities that kept things running, as well as the spots that attracted tourists, namely: the view.

It was not a city that enticed the faint of heart. If a fear of heights alone didn’t discourage, the ways of getting around it often did. Aside from lifts for cargo and goods and the like, the most common method of getting around the city’s tiers was not stairs, but was by rope pulleys that shot you up into air or by metal pole that let you slide back down. There were no real elevators, and nothing else really that connected the different sections of the city. Roy knew of its like nowhere else.

But as he stood on the platform taking in the sights, the other Chuki dispersing around him, heading to wherever it was they were going, he felt like something was off. In that city much like a wilderness unto itself, his survival instincts were kicking in. There was no change in the twinkling light of the ads on the signs; the din of the trains and the workers and cranes had not gone silent, but the air had changed. It was as though something was going to happen any-

A gust of wind hit Roy with the power of a hurricane, knocking him off his feet. He landed on his tail, letting out a groan of pain as his momentum rolled him onto his back. Roy squeezed his eyes shut against any further misfortune, but it seemed that once was the end of it. When he was certain nothing else was going to happen, he looked up to see a familiar tan Aes standing above him, his green robes settling as he let go of his magic.

Right on time.

“Hey Tanashi,” Roy said, smiling despite his pain. He wiggled his toes. Good, spine not broken.

His friend glared back at him, gloved arms crossed over his chest. His emerald eyes glowed with an anger that had been simmering for months, one Roy knew he deserved.

“You wrote me a _letter_?” the Chuki said incredulously.

Roy pushed himself to his feet with his hands and his tail before answering. He was a head taller than his friend, but that did nothing to diminish Tanashi’s stature, at least in Roy’s eyes. “I did,” he said. “I thought you’d appreciate it.”

Tanashi’s face didn’t soften in the slightest at the explanation. “You’re lucky I got it before I left, otherwise I would have had no idea you would even be here!”

“Then it worked out!” Roy defended.

Tanashi’s fist connected with the top of Roy’s stomach, just shy of strong enough to knock the wind out of him but still producing a solid grunt. The warning it sent was loud and clear: testing him was ill advised, to say the least.

“We have _phones_ Roy,” he spelled out. “They allow for _instantaneous communication_!”

Roy ignored his friend’s frustration and the warning. “Yeah, but they’re not as fun! You can’t feel like ancient explorer coming home by ship from a long voyage if you’re writing text messages. You got to have quills and paper and lantern light.” He took on a dramatic voice. “‘Day one hundred eighty three: it appears my best friend has been replaced by an angry sea creature. And a smelly one at that.’”

“You took a train,” Tanashi reminded him, “and your handwriting sucks.”

“‘Not only is the beast’s odor atrocious,’” Roy went on, “‘but he is a fun-ruiner as well.””

Tanashi shoved him back, but this time Roy was expecting it. He spun, using his tail to shift his momentum, and reached out to pull the other Chuki into an embrace.

“Missed you,” Roy told him, nuzzling the top of Tanashi’s head against his cheek.

Tanashi struggled for a moment but eventually gave up. “I’m still mad at you for leaving,” he said, pouting.

“I know,” Roy said, still holding him. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“You better.”

The two separated, but only slightly. Roy continued to hold his friend by the shoulders as he looked him over. He had gotten leaner in the half-year since he’d last seen him in person. At the same time, his muscles were more built. He had been training hard, and the results were obvious. For the longest time, since he had become a full member of the Monster Hunter Guild in their home city, he had been part of the domestic branch, but now they’d recognized his skill and made him one of their traveling agents. His friend had finally gotten his wish to see the world, just like him. But he would help protect it too, and that would have earned all of Roy’s respect if Tanashi didn’t already have it.

“So, what have they got you doing all the way out here?” Roy asked, “You didn’t mention it in your message.”

The other Chuki shrugged. His frustration replaced by a calm aloofness as they shifted topics. “Dunno,” he told Roy. “They just said get here. They didn’t give any specifics in the order.”

“I don’t think it could be too bad,” Roy said to assuage any doubts he may have. “Fontina hasn’t even had a monster sighting in the last century.” He had looked that up himself on his train ride over, out of his own worry, but he didn’t tell Tanashi that.

His friend wasn’t buying it anyway. “Bad enough to order out,” he countered.

He had a point. External agents were the ones who helped the domestic teams deal with whatever problems they were unequipped to handle on their own, but that had a very broad meaning.

“Maybe they’re just short-handed at the moment,” Roy offered.

Tanashi shook his head in dismissal. “My meeting with them isn’t until tomorrow,” he said, “I won’t know anything for sure until then.”

Roy grinned at that. “So you have some free time then?”

Tanashi met his eye skeptically. “Whyyyy?”

Roy spread his arms in gesture to the whole city. “This is you first time this far from home!” he exclaimed. “You should go exploring!” He placed a hand to his chest. “And I, of course, will be your humble guide.” He bowed in the traditional way, curling his tail around the top of his right arm in a gesture of respect and trust.

Tanashi crossed his arms again now that Roy had let him go. “We both know you don’t have a humble bone in your body.”

“Wow, I see how it is.” Roy straightened, casting a deadpan glance in his friend’s direction. “I’m just trying to show my best friend a good time before we both set off for work and not see each other for months again.”

“And whose fault is that…” Tanashi said under his breath then added, louder, “Alright where do you wanna go?”

“How about a tour of the upper districts?” Roy suggested. “They have most of the fun stuff.”

Tanashi shrugged. He didn’t have any alternative to suggest. “Sure, where’s the elevators?”

Roy raised an eyebrow. “Elevators?”

Tanashi rolled his eyes from whatever game Roy was playing. “Stairs?”

The eyebrow shot higher. The smile grew on his lips.

“There _is_ a way to get up there, right?”

Roy led Tanashi to one of the zip line stations near the train platform. The station had several lines in a semicircle: metal pillars about the height of a Qiu Chuki, with a few feet of platform in front of it for Chuki of ascending heights. Roy went straight to the one with a sign that said “Main Street” above it. When he gestured to it, the other Chuki looked at him like he was crazy.

“This is it?” he questioned.

“It’s that or you see if someone is willing to let you ride up on a cargo lift.”

“I see,” he said flatly, “this city is insane. It all makes sense now why you’re so excited.”

Roy nudged him with his elbow as he walked passed him. “Come on, I’ve never known you to be afraid of heights.”

“There’s a difference between being afraid and being sensible,” Tanashi argued.

Roy pulled one of the powered handles off the rack in the center of the platform and looked it over. “You’re not seriously considering it right?” Tanashi went on.

“Well, you know what they say.” Roy stepped back to the end of the line and clipped the top brackets onto it. Upon closer inspection it could be seen that the lines were not rope but steel painted to look the part. The handle also had a part that clipped around the wrist that prevented him from coming loose while on the line, so even if his grip failed the worst that would happen was he’d be dangling slightly until he reached the top. It even had a function that stopped the motor from turning on until it was engaged. As he clipped it shut below his hand, the red light on the top turned green. He looked back to Tanashi. “‘When in Romano…’”

He thumbed the button on the side and he was off.

Wind whipped at Roy’s face as the ground fell away beneath him and he soared up towards the treetops. There were hundreds of feet between him and ground in moments, but it was exhilarating. He flew passed levels of the city, watching them grow and shrink like something from a dream. Other zip lines crossed below and above him and he saw several other Chuki going to various other parts of the city. It really was like a paradise for the kid in all of them.

The handle slowed as it reached the top, braking smoothly so that when he reached the end of the platform he stepped onto it casually as if he had walked the whole way up. He undid the clip and placed the handle back on a shelf then waited for Tanashi.

It was about three minutes – just long enough to make Roy contemplate going back down and getting him – before he saw his friend coming his way. Roy peeked over the edge of the platform as the tan Chuki huddled into himself like if he didn’t have all four limbs touching the handle he would fall. His eyes were glued to the ground far beneath him.

Roy calmly went over to the end of the line and waited. Tanashi slid into place after another second, still curled tightly into a ball. Roy pressed the release button on the handle and caught the other Chuki with his other arm and tail before he could hit the ground.

“You know those things have had one failure since they started being used more than a decade ago right?”

“I don’t trust something smaller than my head to keep me on an inch-thick rope while it’s going Mach 1…” Tanashi mumbled.

“You go like twenty miles an hour at most.”

Tanashi fixed Roy with a death stare, and the yellow Chuki knew he was already hatching some way to get back at him. Good, he was hoping for it. His friend said nothing, however, and slowly unknotted himself before standing and smoothing his robes.

Tanashi’s mood softened a little, surprise replacing frustration, when he saw what was before them. The lift they had taken had put them right at the end of the city center’s main street, though it was more garden than street. Two lanes of polished wood were flanked by beds of yellow flowers – the same yellow as the crystals that could now be seen growing from the treetops above their heads as well as growing in the street itself. Birds chirped from the smaller trees planted in the street, and small animals skittered to and fro, replacing the sounds of industrialization in the lower tiers with ones of nature.

The avenue was lined on both sides by rows of buildings that formed the lifeblood of the city. As they started walking down it they passed a post office – pneumatic tubes sticking out in all directions to deliver mail throughout the city, a housing office – it’s pale white façade a great contrast to the browns and greens of the other buildings, the information center – it’s panoramic doors wide open to anyone and everyone, the City Defense headquarters –easily spotted by its barred windows, the guild halls – which Tanashi promptly avoided (no need to start work early), a library – easily the second largest building on the street, and a museum.

“Oh hey!” Roy said, already walking towards it.

“No.” Tanashi grabbed him by the furred collar of his jacket and pulled him away before they lost the entire day looking at pictures of ruins and Roy fact-checking all their information on ancient cultures.

At the far end of it all, the city temple stood like a mountain above all the rest of the buildings. Its frontage was all sharp and jagged angles, like lightning strikes frozen in time. It was the only building to be partially made of stone: a glass-like quartz that nearly glowed as much as the crystals themselves.

As the pair passed, they stopped and gave thanks to the planet for providing for them and keeping them safe since they last visited. Then, they turned off the street and further into more touristy part of the district.

“Does the air feel… tense to you?” Tanashi asked all of the sudden.

Roy looked down at him curiously. “You mean between us?” he blurted.

Tanashi shook his head. “Look.”

Roy looked out over the street. Everything seemed like how he remembered it. It was nearly two years since he had been in the city himself and since then it had only gotten denser, but none of that seemed to touch the city center. There was only a scattering of Chuki wandering the streets compared to some other districts where you were practically bumping shoulders. There were gardeners tending to the trees and flowers, Chuki in formal clothes entering and exiting the buildings, other visitors taking in the sights. It all seemed normal to him. He told Tanashi as much.

The other Chuki’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t disagree.

“Do you wanna go to the guild hall after all?” Roy suggested.

Tanashi thought for a moment then resumed his walk. “No, but I would like to see if I can get some information.”

“Then we’re already headed to the right place.” Roy winked at his friend and laughed as a look of distress crossed his features. Same old Tanashi – too much fun to mess with.

Fontina’s market was much like any other city’s, Tanashi noted, only suspended a bajillion stories above the ground. A puzzle of large wooden platforms held the stalls aloft from the branches above them with wide walkways bolted between. It had been there long enough that the vines wrapping themselves around the treetops had wound their way down to envelope the dark wood of the streets in green and yellow. The stalls were selling everything from fruit to spices to snacks Chuki could eat as they walked around the city, and the wind carried with it the smells of cooking meats and cinnamon.

Unlike the city center, this part of the city was filled near to bursting. According to Roy, this time of year was prime not only for tourism but for setting up trade deals for the year as the harvest was just starting to come in. Everyone had a smile on their face. Even the Chuki using wind magic to blow leaves and other detritus off the paths had a spring in their steps.

“Guess it was your imagination after all,” Roy commented as they stood at the edge of the buzzing activity.

“Maybe…” Tanashi doubted. He had developed a sense for this sort of thing in the guild. You trust your instincts or you usually suffer for it.

“You wanna split up?” Roy suggested.

Tanashi looked up at him. “I just got you back and you wanna split up already? Let’s just keep an ear open. Besides, you did say you were going to show me around the place, remember?”

Roy chuckled as they started walking down the first street. “You can’t really go wrong here. Poor quality doesn’t really survive in a place this famous for long.” And it was famous, Roy explained. It was the epicenter of the whole market industry for the region. Many of the small stands in the rows represented some of the largest foodstuffs companies and restaurants in the world, and this was where they came to do business. That wasn’t to say that small business stands didn’t exist there; it was a pretty even split. Any Chuki that wanted to open up a place just to sell some good food need only sign up for the space and pay the fee for having a new platform installed if there wasn’t any openings. But because of the competition, nothing short of amazing really stood for long.

“So did you get any assignments before this?” Roy asked Tanashi as they went along.

He shook his head. “This is the first.”

Roy let out a breath. “I guess this kinda sucks for a first one then, with not being told anything except “come.” At least you got to come here though.”

“It is a nice city,” Tanashi admitted.

“Just wait until you see some of the lookouts. The sunset is amazing this time of year.”

He grinned. “I’m holding you to that.”

They fell silent for a minute, browsing the contents of the stalls from the center of the street. Tanashi’s mind began drifting off to a place he had been avoiding up until that moment. Roy had seemed so happy that he didn’t want to spoil their reunion, but perhaps putting it off too long wasn’t good either.

There _was_ a tension between them, one neither of them seemed to want to really acknowledge, but it had festered long enough in messages they’d sent to one another the last six months, dancing around the topic like they were both thinking of changing to careers in it. Right there and then was better than never, he decided.

“Hey Roy?” he said, turning to look up at his friend, but he wasn’t there.

Tanashi blinked. “The heck?”

The Chuki looked over the top of the crowd as best he could, trying to find his friend’s red mohawk amongst the rainbow of other Chuki. Where the hell could he have gone that fast?

After searching half the street, he didn’t so much find Roy as run straight into him. The yellow Chuki collided with Tanashi and nearly knocked him off his feet.

“Oh hey, where’d you go?” he had the nerve to ask.

“Where did _I_ go?” Tanashi growled. “Where did _you_ go?”

Roy held out a cone of ice cream to him – strawberry. “Grabbing a snack,” he said. “I did say this.”

Tanashi couldn’t remember hearing him, but he let it slide. Strawberry was his favorite. “If you’re stopping for snacks already do you just wanna eat somewhere?” he suggested.

Roy paused his attentions on his own cone mid-lick. “Don’t you wanna get some info?”

Tanashi looked out over the crowd. They looked happy enough. Maybe his own tensions were bleeding into it and there was nothing to worry about. “I don’t think I’m gonna find anything out before tomorrow,” he said before letting Roy lead him to what he hoped was a good restaurant.

The place Roy picked was a level above the market. Carved into the trunk of one of the trees that was still at good thirty feet wide even at that height. It was mostly open to the outside. Huge windows rounded the place giving a panoramic view of the forest canopy. The center of the tree, though, was still intact, allowing it to grow up far past their heads. The furniture, too, was carved out of the wood, tables and benches of the same dark redwood rosined to a shine.

They sat near the outside ring, sipping lemonade and munching on sandwiches, when Roy asked the first question.

“So how’s the homefront doing?”

“Same old,” Tanashi said between bites. “Dizz misses you, as always. I see your brother once in a blue moon because of work, but never for long. He’s been busy these days. I don’t know with what, nothing involving the guild, that much is for sure.” He paused to take a drink, looking out the window like there was something else he’d rather be taking about. “I see our friends less often than I like, but I knew what I was signing up for.”

“You went through the same training as Ricky did after you got promoted, right? Did you see a lot of him then?”

“No, he wasn’t involved in the training. I had to take some survival courses too, and that wasn’t done by the City Defense but the guild themselves, so I wasn’t anywhere near them then. What about you? Find anything that was worth rushing away so fast for?”

Roy smirked. “I’m right,” he said. He didn’t need to say what about.

Tanashi rolled his eyes, regretting asking. “You’re still on about this, huh?”

“This is the third temple I’ve explored that had evidence of the same thing,” he went on tapping the table with a finger.

Tanashi leaned forward in his chair and kept his voice low. “You really think that the world just ended for these Chuki and they not only knew about it but accepted it as well?”

“They didn’t think it was ending,” Roy clarified. “They just disappeared. Disappeared along with almost everything they had to bring with them – all their knowledge, their technology; everything except the fact that they were there and the fact that they were leaving.”

“Which is the greatest hole in your theory: you have no evidence of this.”

“Just means I gotta keep looking.”

Tanashi shook his head. “I don’t know if I want you to be right about this or not.”

Roy raised a brow at him. “Why?”

“Because if you are, then why did they leave? Where did they go? Doesn’t that worry you? What was going on that they just up and left?”

Roy looked at the ice in his glass, watched as one cube slid off of another and slid deeper into the drink. “I… actually didn’t think about that…”

“I worry about you, you know,” Tanashi added.

The words drew Roy back to the moment. “I know.”

Then, Roy could tell from the look on his face that the moment he had dreaded had finally come. There was no more avoiding it.

“You know… I don’t need to take contracts in my new position. I can choose to attach myself to any exploratory effort I choose if we get a request for them. I can even help you pay for the fees.”

Roy’s expression went flat. “Tanashi we’ve been over this before.”

“Let me come with you, Roy,” the other Chuki pressed.

Roy shook his head. “No.”

Tanashi’s hands slammed down on the table. “Why not?!” he shouted over the din of the restaurant. Embarrassed, he reeled back, but was just as angry. His voice became a whisper sharper than a blade. “Why don’t you want me coming with you?”

“Because,” Roy started. He stared down the other Chuki’s anger, unfazed. They’d had this argument before. It was why he’d left without telling him last time. “Think about it Tana,” he explained. “I’ve run into two monsters the entire time I’ve been doing this. In the half of the world I have visited I have faced no more danger from monsters than the average town. And I’m more than capable of defending myself in those situations. There’s more good you could be doing elsewhere than stuck with me.”

Roy knew he didn’t accept that argument for some reason, but he didn’t push it either. He wish he understood what was going through his mind. What made him keep bringing this back up? He wanted to see the world – the interesting parts. Not be stuck up in ruins for weeks on end. He wanted to help Chuki who were alive, not study the dead ones. But he never explained himself, just kept pushing this.

Mood ruined, they picked at the rest of their food in silence. Again, they had gotten nowhere. And for all that Roy had been trying to avoid it coming up that day, now that it was out he realized how sick he was of this problem hanging between them. It was time to get to the heart of it – get his friend to tell him what he was clearly holding back so they could do something about it and maybe come to a compromise. He hated disappointing Tanashi this much; he wanted to say yes, but that would be selfish on both their sides. There had to be more to what his friend was asking, he just needed to get it out of him. But how? There was only one way he could think of, and that was to be a little mean. But it would let him blow off some steam too, hopefully, so he went with it.

“I don’t think you’d be able to keep up with me anyway,” Roy goaded.

Tanashi looked up from his empty plate. “What is that supposed to mean?” he questioned. He was not amused; Roy didn’t expect him to be.

Roy looked up at the ceiling. “Just that no amount of special training will make you capable of beating me,” he went on.

“We haven’t sparred in over 2 years,” Tanashi reminded.” You have no idea what I’m capable of.”

“Then it’s a bet,” Roy declared, standing up from his seat. “If you can pin me, I’ll let you come with me on my next trip and any others you want from then on.”

The other Chuki’s eyes narrowed, skeptical. “You’re not playing some kind of trick on me, are you?”

“Do I ever play tricks on you?” Roy asked as he put his jacket back on.

“Yes,” Tanashi answered flatly.

Roy paused. “Fair, but no, not this time.”

Tanashi stared into Roy’s eyes, looking for some sort of ploy, but apparently he found none.

“Deal,” he said.

They went back to the outskirts of the city for their little bout, Tanashi having much less difficulty with the return trip than the one up. Roy knew he just needed some time to get used to it. Or maybe he was simply blinded by determination now.

The Chuki found a good clearing within the tangled roots of two of the larger trees just outside the city limits. It gave them about forty square feet of flat ground and the giant roots hid them from anyone who might get too curious and think their fight was serious.

“Magic or no magic?” Tanashi asked as he stretched.

Roy pulled off his jacket and hung it on a branch. “No attacking each other with magic, but anything else is fair game.”

Tanashi smirked, thinking he now had the advantage. He took one last breath to center himself. “Ready?” he asked without any further preamble.

Roy rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. “Ready.”

Tanashi didn’t waste a moment. With a pop of air, he closed the distance between them in less time than it took Roy to blink. He’d gotten fast, but that didn’t stop him from being predictable.

Roy dodged his head-on strike by stepping to the side and the other Chuki flew past him. He assumed a defensive stance with the ease of one who had studied for years despite his rust: feet wide, tail low to the ground to help with balance and out of the opponent’s line of sight in order to strike with it if the need arose.

Tanashi spun as he hit giant root at the edge of their arena, landing feet first and popping off with another quick burst of his wind magic. Roy dodged to the side again, but this time Tanashi spun his weight midair so his leg swung at his head. Roy got his arm up just in time so that it was what crashed into the side of his jaw instead of his friend’s kick. As Roy’s body twisted in the recoil, he tried to clear the spots that sprung up in his vision. So, he _had_ learned to mix things up a little.

Tanashi landed as Roy straightened from the blow. The tan Chuki still didn’t spend more than a tenth of a second on the ground, remaining just long enough to shift his weight in the grass before he swung back again.

That had always been his style: overwhelm, subdue; don’t give the opponent a moment to think or breathe. It was effective, but only if it worked as quickly as it was supposed to. Drag things on, and he’d tire out quick.

Roy’s own methods were much more patient: wait for an opening, or tease one out. His magic afforded him quicker reaction time, so even with whatever Tanashi had learned, he was ready for it. It was time to remind him of this.

His next strike, Roy grabbed the other Chuki by his wrist and pulled him close. He kissed him on the forehead before shoving him back. The glare he gave Roy as he skidded back was priceless, and the yellow Chuki nearly broke out laughing.

Tanashi closed the distance between them again. He jumped, aiming another kick at Roy’s head. Roy leaned back to dodge then rolled his weight back onto his tail, picking up his feet to dodge his friend’s follow-up sweep at his feet. He kicked Tanashi in the chest as he rolled back to his feet, sending him to the ground but only for a split second. He sprung up and came back for more.

Tanashi started coming faster. He was in front of Roy in half a heartbeat. But that time, as Roy reached out to grab the blow, he disappeared just as fast. Next thing Roy knew there was a blur of motion to his left side, followed by sharp pain as Tanashi’s kick connected with his side.

That time Roy was sent tumbling. He fell spinning into the dirt for a good dozen feet before righting himself, Tanashi already coming again, never letting up for a moment.

Time to adjust the plan, Roy thought.

Deciding to take initiative, Roy focused, channeling energy to his hands. Electricity began to spark from his fingers, arcing up between them. Tanashi saw this and pulled up short, hesitating for just a split second, but it was enough.

Bluff made, Roy banished the magic, tossing his hand back and discharging the bolts into the ground with a cloud of kicked-up dirt. He struck with his bare hand as Tanashi’s momentum carried him into his reach. Tanashi blocked at the last moment, but the blow still blew him back.

That time Roy pressed the advantage, charging after the other Chuki and spinning to strike with his tail.

Tanashi dodged his retaliatory lunge, ducking into Roy’s reach, and landing a strike with his open palm against his chest, then another.

Roy blocked the third, grabbing the other Chuki’s wrist and struggling to regain his breath. Tanashi used Roy’s weight to spin up and kick at his head. Roy did the only thing he could think of and dropped, pulling Tanashi down with him. Roy rolled on top of him and pinned his shoulders to the dirt.

The other Chuki struggled for a second then, realizing it was futile, gave in. He could have easily blown Roy off with his magic, but that would have been against the rules. He pouted, refusing to look up at Roy.

The yellow Chuki smirked, still partially breathless, and leaned down to kiss Tanashi’s lips before he could do anything to stop him.

“You got better,” Roy told him.

“Not good enough,” Tanashi mumbled.

“Tanashi…”

The other Chuki finally met Roy’s eyes, his own were glossy in the setting sun. “I get it,” he said, “you don’t want me to come with you. Just tell me why! And don’t give me any of that ‘greater good’ crap.”

“You think I don’t want you to come with me?” Roy echoed, turning it into a question. It was now or never. He let go of Tanashi’s shoulders, leaning back in his lap.

“You’re my best friend Tana. There’s few things I’d like more in the world than for you to come with me. But I saw how happy being in the Hunter’s Guild made you, and I knew my life would never work for you. You’d be bored out of your mind in a week. And it’s not crap. I remember all the stories you told me – the towns you’ve helped saved. You’re a hero Tana, and that’s way more important that guarding me.”

Tanashi looked away again, tears now spilling from his eyes and down his face. “I wouldn’t get bored because you’d be there.” His voice was barely a whisper, but it was cold enough to make Roy’s blood freeze. “When we were kids, we promised each other we’d see the world together. When you got accepted to do research and they said I couldn’t come with… I was so mad that I was left behind. Not at you, just at myself. When I got in the Hunter’s Guild, all I could think about what how I was finally good enough to go into the outside world where you were. And then I found out I had to wait. Two years, minimum, stuck as a domestic hunter before I could even get the _chance_ to do things on my own.”

Tanashi’s gaze became hard again through his tears. “I trained harder than I thought I possibly could, so that when the time came I knew I would do it, only to find out that in the meantime you apparently decided I shouldn’t come with you. And you just ran off before I could say anything; before I was even formally promoted. Dizz even barely got a goodbye! And the next thing we both know you’re on the other side of the continent of half a year.” He chuckled, a bitter smile cutting through his face. “What are we gonna do with you?”

Roy pulled his friend up into his arms, nearly crushing him in a hug. “I’m so sorry,” he said. His voice trembled ever so slightly into his ear. His whole body shook with silent sobs. “I don’t know how I forgot.”

Tanashi froze, shocked by his best friend’s response. His arms went half way up to hug him back, hung there, then fell back to the ground. He turned his head away instead. “You don’t have to act so weird about it,” he mumbled. “Just don’t do it again…”

The two stood in silence as they rode back up into the city.

“I thought you said there weren’t any elevators,” Tanashi commented eventually.

“They have a couple,” Roy admitted. “Mostly in hotels. They can’t _completely_ scare away Chuki afraid of heights. That’s bad for business.”

The silence returned after that. The occasional bar of light slid across them in the dim space, marking the seconds as much as their progress.

“You’re not mad?” Roy asked.

“No,” Tanashi said quietly.

“You sure?”

“I just…” His friend took a breath. “The idea of seeing the world with you…”

“You will see the world with me,” Roy told him. “And when we meet up, we’ll tell each other all about what we’ve seen.”

Tanashi chuckled. “You make it sound like we’re gonna run into each other a lot.”

“I have a very good feeling we will.”

“Does that mean you’ll actually stay in touch from now on?” Tanashi teased.

Roy wrapped his arm around Tanashi’s shoulders. “Absolutely.”

“And not by letter?”

“And not by letter.”

As the elevator continued to rise, so did their spirits. Tanashi wrapped his own arm around Roy’s waist. “So,” he opened, “what should we do with the rest of the day?”

The hotel Roy had booked was one of the city’s better ones – some leftover grant money going to good use. Built to rise over the forest canopy, he had gotten a suite near the top floor. The sunset streamed in through panoramic windows that filled a whole wall, illuminating everything in gold, orange and purple. Past the bathroom and closet tucked near the entrance, the open sitting room had a large velvet couch sitting on cream carpet thick enough to massage their feet as they walked over it. A large flat screen hung from the side wall, playing soft music as they entered.

Beyond the living room was a rather small attached kitchen that nonetheless had everything one could need. There was a full-size fridge, a stove, an oven and plenty of counter space to work with. Not that either of them really planned on cooking.

At the end of the room, behind a set of closed doors, rested a king-sized bed flanked on either side by a nightstand of dark wood. Behind the bed was a massive tank that nearly filled out the length of the wall stocked with fish from a nearby port town that was fairly famous in its own rights. The same wall-height windows extended into the bedroom, blinds thrown open to let in the day’s fading light, but none of that caught Roy’s or Tanashi’s attention.

The two Chuki were entirely focused on each other as they moved through the room. Their mouths were locked together, tongues swirling in each other’s mouths while their hands became reacquainted each other’s bodies. Roy’s jacket flew through the air to land on the velvet couch, his shirt on top of the TV as it played its soft music. Tanashi’s robe was discarded on the carpet. Roy’s shorts hit the kitchen counter with the clink of his metal belt. His underwear were draped over the back of a chair while Tanashi’s were lost somewhere on top of the fridge. Their naked bodies bathed in the light of the sunset before they even made it into the other room.

The bedroom door slammed open from their lumbering attempt to stay as pressed against each other as possible. Tanashi was the first one to notice they were close to the bed and he shoved Roy onto it, dazing the yellow Chuki for a moment as he was suddenly staring at the ceiling. Tanashi straddled his waist and bent down to continue the kiss. This time he held it still for a long moment, trying almost to breathe Roy in.

“Now I know you said you missed me,” he said as he broke away, sitting up to look at him sprawled beneath him with his arms tossed over his head, “but did _all_ of you miss me?” The tip of his tail snaked down to tease the top of Roy’s sheath, feeling for the treat hiding inside, then slid lower and wrapped around his balls, giving them a light squeeze.

Roy smirked and bucked his hips to the side, tossing Tanashi off and onto the bed next to him. He followed through, rolling on top of the other Chuki and pinning him to the mattress in turn. “And what about you?” he teased, running a finger down the middle of his chest. “I bet you were imagining this every night since I left.”

Tanashi looked away, face turning visibly red under his fur. “No I wasn’t!”

Roy chuckled. His hand traced Tanashi’s middle until he reached where the tip of his length met his stomach. The other Chuki was already hard, and Roy wrapped his fingers around him just below the tip. He could see the base of his length bulging in his sheath and he ran his hand down to help it the rest of the way out. “Your body’s being a lot more honest than you are,” he said as his friend was fully revealed.

A gust of air knocked Roy off the bed and almost off his feet. Tanashi sat up and crossed his arms over his chest, still no less hard than he was a moment ago. “I’ll have you know there are plenty of other Chuki I have fun with when you’re not around,” he defended.

“And do you wish they were all me?” Roy continued to tease.

“No!” Tanashi shouted, sounding less appalled by the thought than he probably intended. “That would be rude to them, and you’re rude for suggesting it.”

“When did I ever say I wasn’t rude?” Roy reminded him. He stepped back up to the bed, reaching up to cup Tanashi’s face, but his tail knocked it aside before he could.

“That’s unfortunate,” he said, still refusing to look at him “because I don’t sleep with meanies.”

“I’m not a meanie, I’m just rude,” Roy argued.

“They’re the same thing!”

“No they’re not.” Roy tried again to reach for him, but the other Chuki stood up on the bed and stepped just out of reach. “A meanie wouldn’t have paid for this room all by himself,” he continued. He hopped onto the bed as well, trying to catch his friend, but Tanashi kept dodging out of his grasp by the finest hair, slipping further back onto the bed as he went.

“So now you think you can buy me?” Tanashi rephrased.

“What, did you want to do it in the middle of the woods?” Roy grabbed at him again. Another miss.

“Maybe I did,” Tanashi argued. “We were having a moment back there. It would have been much nicer than how this is turning out so far.”

“Oh yeah?” Roy made one more lunge for Tanashi, but he spun to the side and skipped his way down to the foot of the bed again. Roy snatched at him with his tail as he tried to get by, tripping his leg and making him stumble across the room until his back was pressed against the glass of the window.

Roy was off the bed and on his feet before the other Chuki had a chance to recover. His hands pinned Tanashi’s shoulders and his tail pinned his hips to the glass. Tanashi put up a struggle, but not much of one.

“If you don’t want me that badly,” he whispered into his ear, “then tell me to stop.”

The end of Roy’s tail wrapped around Tanashi’s length, which hadn’t gone down at all since they’d started their chase. It gently stroked him up and down, earning Roy soft gasps from the other Chuki. “Well?” he pushed.

Tanashi didn’t tell him to stop, but instead stole another kiss as Roy’s face was close to him. “Don’t even think about stopping,” he said as they broke apart.

Permission gained, Roy slid his hands from Tanashi’s shoulders down to his hips, gripping them tight. His arms now free, the other Chuki wrapped them around Roy’s neck, pulling their lips together once more. Roy’s tail retreated so he could press their bodies together, rubbing his dick against Tanashi’s own until he was fully out as well.

His hands slid further down, cupping Tanashi’s ass, before pulling him further up the glass. Tanashi wrapped his legs around Roy’s waist in response. The yellow Chuki’s length slipped down to sandwich itself between the other Chuki’s spread cheeks.

“Ready?” Roy asked as they broke for air.

“Months ago.”

Roy pushed the other Chuki up higher until his tip found his entrance. Then he removed the support of his arms, letting Tanashi slide down the glass and onto his cock. A gasp became a moan as he sank inch by inch until every bit of him was pressed inside.

“You still make some of the cutest sounds,” Roy told him, readjusting his footing.

“S-shut up,” Tanashi stuttered, shuddering against him. His cock was spilling pre copiously onto both their stomachs.

Roy pulled out a little before shoving back in. Tanashi made a sound that was somewhere between a squeak and a moan in response. “Make me,” he told him.

Tanashi clamped down on his cock like a vice, but that only worked to drive Roy onward. He started to thrust, moving his hands to the glass on either side of the other Chuki for better leverage and so his hips were the only thing keep Tanashi up. Tanashi moaned louder as he bounced up and down against the wall. His arms and legs gripped Roy tight every time he went in, his short claws almost digging into Roy’s neck and shoulders, but he hardly cared. He had wanted this just as badly as Tanashi did, and for just as long.

He broke his rhythm every now and then by pressing in deep, fucking him with the bulb at his base that would earn him a soft “mmph” every time it slid in and out.

As he got closer, Tanashi could tell. He knew the changes in his rhythms – the way his eyes squeezed shut with every thrust. He whispered into Roy’s ear to cum inside him, but Roy decided he wasn’t done yet.

He pulled out of the Chuki at the last second and let him back on the floor. Tanashi’s legs were shaky, knees nearly giving out, as pre spilled from his ass and Roy’s warning shot coated his stomach. After half a moment for both of them to catch their breath, Roy grabbed Tanashi’s hips and spun him around. He rammed himself back inside, their balls smacking together as he hilted him. Tanashi’s face and chest were pressed against the glass with the force of it. His breath fogged the window with each noise that escaped him.

Roy went slow again, going from tip to base and stretching the other Chuki’s ass with his hands. Tanashi begged him to go faster, but Roy didn’t listen. He was even tempted to go slower every time the other Chuki said anything, but he kept his pace even. Roy watched his cock slip and disappear into Tanashi’s ass; watched the tip of Tanashi’s tail twitch next to his head.

He could hear the other Chuki spilling precum onto the glass and carpet beneath them. Each time Roy knew Tanashi was close – his voice rising subtly in pitch and claws lightly scraping the glass – he stopped to lick and nip at his neck, his hands swirling through the fur on his chest. He would stop just long enough for Tanashi’s breathing to steady slightly then resume his thrusts.

No longer able to stand the edging, Tanashi attempted to push himself off the glass to take control, but Roy had been expecting this, and as he shoved himself into Roy’s chest Roy wrapped him in a bear hug and carried him back over to the bed.

Tanashi was too weak to even fight it at that point. His feet dragged against the floor, like he had used the last of his strength in his push off the wall.

When they reached the bed, Roy let Tanashi fall onto it before lying atop him. “You really want me to finish, huh?”

“Yes!” Tanashi moaned back at him. “Please!”

Roy kissed the top of his head before propping his knees up on the mattress and pushing into him once more, this time sparing him nothing. He rocked the bed into the wall, starling the fish in the tank, and Tanashi’s moans came stronger than ever, muffled as he pressed his face into the sheets.

Roy felt a second warning shot go off before burying himself to the hilt. He grunted as he unloaded at last, waves of ecstasy coursing through him with each pulse of seed that entered his friend. Tanashi was comparatively silent, small noises escaping him as he was filled. And filled him Roy did. The last few ropes leaked out around his base, dripping down his and Tanashi’s thighs and onto the floor.

Panting, Roy stayed there for a few minutes once he finished. Then he pulled out with a wet pop and collapsed onto the bed next to his best friend. Tanashi groaned and turned over. His own load had made a large stain on his chest and on the bed. He panted as well as he looked up at the ceiling.

They were both silent for a long while, catching their breath and basking in the afterglow. Finally, right as Roy was about to jokingly suggest another round, Tanashi rolled on top of Roy’s chest and placed his head against it.

“You’re still a meanie,” he said softly, and Roy couldn’t help but laugh.

The next morning Roy stood out on the hotel’s roof, staring over the forest as the wind swept at the leaves like a great green ocean. In one hand, he ate a warm cinnamon roll. The other drummed along the metal railing as he waited.

Tanashi had woken up early to go to his meeting with the guild while he had slept in. He could groggily remember his friend saying something about him not going anywhere and that he shouldn’t be long, but nothing more than that really.

It had been more than three hours since Roy himself had woken up, and he was just starting to think he may have some time to go out after all and grab some things when his phone rang in his pocket and he brought it to his ear.

“Hey Roy, you up yet?” Tanashi’s voice said on the other end.

“Very. Are you still at the guild hall?” he asked. Something about the other Chuki’s voice was putting Roy off.

“Yeah… Listen, I really think you should swing by too.”

That was unexpected. Officially, Roy had no connection to the Hunter’s Guild, and they were generally a very closed-off body. The question begged: “Why?”

There was a moment’s pause, long enough for Roy’s imagination to run wild before Tanashi finally said, “Because this is something you’re gonna want to hear.”

**Author's Note:**

> As per usual (though not so much with these stories) music was the driving force behind this story, particularly "Sockwave" by Feint. I recommend giving a listen if it's your type of jam :3


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